Lib lands new Kyoto blow on PM

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PRIME Minister John Howard's environmental credentials have been
undermined by a senior Liberal MP from Sydney's wealthy eastern
suburbs  and this time it's not Malcolm Turnbull.

In a speech to an energy summit, former NSW Liberal leader Peter
Debnam said he wished Australia had ratified the Kyoto Protocol and
said nuclear power was not a realistic option for the nation, which
should be focusing on solar power.

He also said the term "clean coal" was an oxymoron.

The provocative comments could not have come at a worst time for
Mr Howard, who is under siege for not acting quickly enough to cut
greenhouse gas emissions following a United Nations report that
said global warming would cause irreversible damage without
action.

Government disunity on environmental issues was revealed last
month after reports that Mr Turnbull, the Environment Minister, had
unsuccessfully lobbied cabinet to ratify Kyoto.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd seized on the latest conflict,
saying that Mr Debnam, now the NSW Opposition energy spokesman, was
"stating quite clearly what commonsense folk across the nation have
known for a long time".

Mr Rudd said Mr Debnam would make a better environment minister
than Mr Turnbull because he recognised the value of ratifying
Kyoto.

Mr Howard insisted that Mr Debnam's comments were not
embarrassing, and denied that more and more Liberals believed that
the Kyoto Protocol should have been ratified.

He said it would not be in Australia's interest to ratify Kyoto
and stressed that clean coal was not an oxymoron. "I think clean
coal is part of the energy future of this country, and so do most
sensible people."

Mr Debnam said it was regrettable that much of the federal
election campaign had been consumed by the argument over the
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, which binds signatories to
reducing carbon emissions targets.

"I wish Australia had ratified the protocol to establish our
credentials, do without the months of political debate and move the
Parliament and community on to address fast-tracked energy
policies," he said.

Mr Debnam, who was endorsed by Mr Howard at the last state
election, said nuclear power had been a "distraction" and was
"simply not going to happen in Australia, and it shouldn't".

"It is clear for Australia that renewables beat nuclear," he
said.

Mr Howard has argued that nuclear power must be investigated for
Australia's future energy needs given its lack of carbon emissions
and capacity to provide baseload power.

Mr Debnam's electorate of Vaucluse falls within Mr Turnbull's
federal seat of Wentworth. At this year's state election the Greens
were the second strongest polling party in Vaucluse, behind the
Liberals.

The Greens are predicting their vote could rise as high as 20
per cent in Wentworth on Saturday, with issues such as the Gunns
pulp mill and Kyoto expected to be key vote turners.

The Victorian Government was steering clear of the latest
brouhaha.

State Opposition environment and climate change spokeswoman
Andrea Coote said when asked whether she agreed that the Kyoto
Protocol should be ratified: "There is no doubt that Victoria will
move towards a carbon-managed economy.

"We welcome the Howard Government's investment into clean coal
development, especially as Victoria has one of the world's largest
brown coal deposits.

"We applaud the Prime Minister for the great achievements he
made at the recent APEC conference in Sydney."